MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th August, 2023) China has lodged a protest with Japan over comments made by former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
Speaking at an international forum in Taipei on Tuesday, Aso, who is also the vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, called on Japan, the United States and Taiwan to have "a readiness to fight." According to the politician, Japan, the US, Taiwan and other friendly countries should be ready to deploy strong deterrence measures that could be used in an adversarial situation.
"Despite China's strong opposition, certain Japanese politician visited China's Taiwan region and made irresponsible remarks that sought to hype up cross-Strait tensions, stoke antagonism and confrontation, and blatantly interfere in China's internal affairs. This seriously violates the one-China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan and tramples on the basic norms governing international relations. China has made serious demarches to Japan and strongly condemns this," a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government has refrained from responding to the incident.
"We (as a government) would like to refrain from comments regarding activities of parliament members and political parties," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.
At the same time, the official stressed the importance of safety and stability in the Taiwan Strait, not only for Japan but for the entire global community.
Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan � a territory with its own democratically elected government � maintains that it is an autonomous country and has political and economic relations with several other nations. Beijing consistently claims the island nation as its own, being the only legitimate political representative of the Chinese people everywhere.
